Second place can hurt, as witnessed last night at the European Championships. Michael Ballack ended on the losing side in a final again. The Daily Telegraph headline Nearly man settles for silver is not one any athlete would wish for:
“Having scored the winning goal against South Korea in the 2002 World Cup semi-final only to miss the final through suspension, and then being denied consolation four years later by a rampant Italy at the same stage, not to mention losing two Champions League finals with Bayer Leverkusen and Chelsea, one of the best players in this tournament might have believed his luck was about to change.” This season Manchester United pipped him to the Premier League awell.
As noted in a previous post: “Silver? It means nothing here; you might as well finish last.” Not quite the Olympic spirit when, for many, it is about competing and being there…
So what is the difference between first loser and an honourable silver medal? Some examples…
Honourable silver – what more can you do?
Vaclav Chalupa, Single sculler. Second in 1992 to East German legend Thomas Lange. Many other World silvers. His only mistake was to be great when someone greater was around. Legends.
Roger Black, Silver to Michael Johnson, 400m 1996. A gold any other year.
First Loser – a missed opportunity?
Jonathan Edwards In 1996 Edwards went into the Olympic games as World Champion (1995) and WR holder (18.29), but it was American Kenny Harrison who took the gold with a jump of 18.09 m. Edwards walked away with the silver after a leap of 17.88 m (the longest ever jump not to win gold). His for the taking.
If you have an opinion on this subject or any other example – please comment here and I will post.
“The silver medal represents a total achievement that I feel extremely proud of.” Xeno Muller, 1996 Gold, 2000 Silver.
